One with Nineveh, Tyre and Hoboken

Ok, this is an ASB [1] map scenario done in cooperation with Rognvald [link] on alternatehistory.com. It is a world, where, by some fantastic set of unlikely events, a huge number of nations that came and went OTL are still around in 2012, including a number that would logically seem, shall we say, unlikely, if the early history was so different. Carthage never fell, a Rome which stayed a Republic was mostly confined to the North shores of the Mediterranean, the Greeks remained democratic, the T'ang emperors took up Japan-style adoption and their dynasty never died out, etc. It is not meant to be taken seriously, but just for fun - it was enjoyable to make, if a lot of work. (Shan't start any maps _this_ big again for a bit).

In this world, the two major power blocks are the Grand Entente, led by the Francian Third Empire and (increasingly) the T'ang Chinese Empire, a block of conservative and authoritarian and in some cases downright totalitarian states: and the boringly named Alliance, a grouping of relatively liberal constitutional monarchies and republics (although Your Democracy May Vary) led, as much as anyone leads, by the United States of the Western Atlantic, which, by some fabulous coincidence has some eerily familiar state lines. (It also has a Hoboken: those Frisian colonists, you know). Generally, the ideological split is less severe than the OTL Communist-Capitalist Democracy split, but there's also a lot of good ol' national interest muscle-flexing (not having had any wars as bad as OTLs WWII, the locals are rather less alarmed by the idea of nationalist muscle-flexing than, say, our Europeans).

Religion is a bit different: most of Europe, North Africa and parts of the Middle East are Christian, but Scandinavia and Vinland in the new world follow a form of organized Paganism that has absorbed a lot of Christian elements (Ragarnok now has an ending, which if not happy, is at least guardedly hopefull), while Persia and various points east follow an evolved form of Zoroastrianism: China is more Buddhist and less Confucian than OTL. The Americas oustside Vinland are mostly Christianized, although some native American states still follow traditional religions. (Human Sacrifice, however, is Right Out). Arabia has it's own Abrahamic offshoot, an "Islam" that didn't travel too well, although it has spread by sea to East Africa.

Most of Christians below to either the Roman Orthodox or the Trojan Universal Orthodox churches: there is a rough religious overlap between the religions and the power blocks, with Alliance members trending heavily Trojan Universal Orthodox, while the Entente tends to be Roman Orthodox: there are also a number of minor sects and "protestant" groups, most numberous in tolerant places like Cascadia, the UWA, or the German states.

Aside from the Alliance-Entente standoff, there is also a strong "non-aligned" movement, headed by the Scandinavians and those grouchy old coot nations, the Mesopotamians. The rest of the world consists of nations influenced to a greater or lesser extent by one of the other blocks without being an actually official member: finlandized, slightlyn puppetized, "leaning" or "inclining..."

Nuclear war between the blocks remains a worry, with a great many sore spots between the blocks world-wide. An increasingly modern and pushy Mongol Khanate: revolts in Aenglish and Francian Africa: a possible new "reunification war" between Israel and Judah: Croatian desires for a sea coast: the spread of wacky revolutionary ideas from Northern California: chaos spreading from Comancheria: Aztec, Maya, and Inca expansionism: and the occasional flight of really fat birds in front of poorly tuned radar dishes. In a fragmented world, there are an alarming number of countries with nuclear weapons. And if that weren't enough to worry about, there's this talk of "global warming" lately...

Technology is variable, with different fields of endeavour varying from OTL mid-1980s to a bit ahead of what it is today in OTL. It's a world more in love with public arts - and more tolerant of public violence- than OTL. The local equivalent of the Olympics, the World Games, held every two years, includes stock car racing and dueling with swords and guns (blunted swords, rubber bullets, and protective gear, yes, but there are usually some pretty spectacular injuries, and occasional deaths, every time around). A few dueling scars are still considered Manly in many nations, and Maya self-mutilation has only grown more baroque with modern medicine and plastic surgery. Poetry is to be found in public spaces, on the radio, in cafes and on the streets, and having literary heavies with international appeal is another source of nationalist boasting. Skaldic duels in the Scandinavian lands are serious business, often leading to duels or suicides, and the Han-Lin Arts Academy in China is the terrifying overlord of every wannabe painter in mainlaind East Asia.

[1] Would require the aid of Alien Space Bats to actually happen